Oz porn watchdog: No bite

Once famous for its unusually tough approach (for a democratic country) to Internet porn, the Australian Broadcasting Authority has been found "powerless against offshore [porn] operators," Australian IT reports . The article adds that the ABA shut down only four Australia-based sites last year. But Aussie adult sites aren't the primary problem, apparently. The international, borderless nature of the Internet is. "The ABA said it was powerless to shut down most obscene Web sites because the sites were located overseas." The ABA reported that about 52% of all content it defined as prohibited - child pornography, pedophilia, bestiality, sexual violence, and terrorism instructions - came from the US, 22% form Russia, and just 4% from Australia. Australian IT cites investigative reporting by the Sydney Daily Telegraph as its source.